Students Award Grants to Area Youth Group Projects

Published: Friday, May 2, 2014 at 02:58 PM.

The H.A.R.M.O.N.Y. program is designed to instill lifetime giving by youth and at the May 1 awards ceremony grants were given to youth-led projects in the community.

White Oak High School student Elizabeth Nowlin sits on the H.A.R.M.O.N.Y. Board and helped disperse the grants. She says participating in the program makes her feel good.

“I thought it would be a good opportunity to give back to the community,” said Nowlin. “I’ve always been an advocate for giving back to the projects that will better the community and see change and growth in the community.”

The Bullying Ain’t Cool Youth Rally received $200 to help educate people about bullying and to provide tools against bullying. The White Oak Green Team was given $300 to host a Fun to Farm Day promoting the fun and sustainability farming. Aspire Reaching Beyond the Obvious received $301 to fund mentoring services for young men and women and the Princess Dream Project was given $600 to create a youth dance group in Richlands area.

Fred Baker helped guide the students through the process of applying for grants and says it’s inspiring to see how excited the youth are when they attain their goals.

“They’ve got a great sense of accomplishment over what they’ve done,” said Baker. “So over the time that we meet through the course of the philanthropy year they know they’ve made a difference. They know they’ve made an impact.”

The H.A.R.M.O.N.Y. program is designed to instill lifetime giving by youth and at the May 1 awards ceremony grants were given to youth-led projects in the community.

White Oak High School student Elizabeth Nowlin sits on the H.A.R.M.O.N.Y. Board and helped disperse the grants. She says participating in the program makes her feel good.

“I thought it would be a good opportunity to give back to the community,” said Nowlin. “I’ve always been an advocate for giving back to the projects that will better the community and see change and growth in the community.”

The Bullying Ain’t Cool Youth Rally received $200 to help educate people about bullying and to provide tools against bullying. The White Oak Green Team was given $300 to host a Fun to Farm Day promoting the fun and sustainability farming. Aspire Reaching Beyond the Obvious received $301 to fund mentoring services for young men and women and the Princess Dream Project was given $600 to create a youth dance group in Richlands area.

Fred Baker helped guide the students through the process of applying for grants and says it’s inspiring to see how excited the youth are when they attain their goals.

“They’ve got a great sense of accomplishment over what they’ve done,” said Baker. “So over the time that we meet through the course of the philanthropy year they know they’ve made a difference. They know they’ve made an impact.”

H. A. R. M. O. N. Y. stands for Helping All Reach More Options through New Youth Givers and is a project of the City of Jacksonville. The project is funded in part by the Caring Communities Foundation of Onslow and from the City. Funds dispersed are raised from work done by H.A.R.M.O.N.Y., assistance from the Caring Communities Foundation, a work experience with Old Navy and donations from the community.